A Downing Street gathering held during the first lockdown last May has been branded “disgusting” by families who lost loved ones to Covid.
Boris Johnson joined staff at a reception described by a source as “a party” on 15 May and told one attendee they deserved a drink for “beating back” the virus, The Independent has been told.
It is understood that about 20 civil servants and advisers gathered inside No 10 and its garden, when gatherings indoors were strictly forbidden and people from different households were restricted to one-on-one meetings outdoors.
Hannah Brady, a spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said she remembered 15 May last year “very well” because she was visiting the hospital where her father was ill with Covid. He died the following day.
The campaigner said the latest claim of a party inside No 10 “makes me sick to my stomach”, adding: “It’s disgusting.”
Ms Brady said: “What makes it hurt even more is that when I met the prime minister some months later, I showed him a photo of dad in the hospital. The prime minister looked me in the eye and told me he’d ‘done everything he could’ to protect my dad.”
She added: “When me and other Covid-bereaved families called for a rapid review inquiry over Summer 2020 … we were told again and again that staff were too busy tackling the virus. Now we know what that looked like.”
The latest revelations – uncovered in a joint investigation by The Independent and The Guardian – are likely to pile pressure on Downing Street, already under fire over a series of gatherings in the run-up to Christmas last year.
The May 2020 event took place after then health secretary Matt Hancock had delivered a press conference, revealing that 384 Covid deaths had been recorded in the previous 24 hours and highlighting a gentle easing of lockdown curbs.
The prime minister was present for around 15 minutes early on at the gathering, according to one witness. The event was characterised as a party by one source in attendance. Staff are understood to have drunk alcohol and eaten pizza, with some staying late into the night.
Asked about Mr Johnson’s “beating back” comment, and his presence at the gathering, a No 10 spokesperson said: “In the summer months Downing Street staff regularly use the garden for some meetings.
“On 15 May 2020 the prime minister held a series of meetings throughout the afternoon, including briefly with the then health and care secretary and his team in the garden following a press conference.”
The spokesperson added: “The prime minister went to his residence shortly after 7pm. A small number of staff required to be in work remained in the Downing Street garden for part of the afternoon and evening.”
Labour accused Mr Johnson of overseeing a culture of rule-breaking at No 10.
“It seems that from the very beginning of this awful pandemic the prime minister was setting a culture of disregarding the laws he was applying to the rest of us,” said Fleur Anderson, the shadow paymaster general.
The Labour frontbencher added: “People have made immense sacrifice during this crisis. It is starting to look like the prime minister has only dithered, partied and eroded public trust.”
The SNP responded to the latest revelation by calling for Mr Johnson to resign – saying he had lost all authority to deliver Covid guidance.
The party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “It’s beyond any doubt that the reported Downing Street parties were not out of the ordinary or spontaneous, but that there were repeated offences. A culture of rule-breaking dominates this corrupt Tory government.”
Mr Blackford added: “The SNP has been clear that this prime minister has lost all authority and he has a duty to at long last do the right thing and resign.”
Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “There needs to be an official and independent inquest into how many times Downing Street officials – and the prime minister himself – may have broken lockdown rules. The public will not stomach a political stitch up. Those who think they are above the law must be held to account.”
It comes as the Metropolitan Police revealed it is contacting two people who attended a Christmas party at the Conservative Party headquarters over alleged breaches of Covid laws.
The force said it was aware of the gathering on 14 December last year. “Officers will be making contact with two people who attended in relation to alleged breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations,” a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to Lord Bew – chair of the House of Lords Appointment Commission Lord – asking him to confirm that Tory politician Shaun Bailey will not be given a peerage.
Mr Bailey was photographed with his staff at a party at Tory HQ in the run-up to last Christmas. The London Assembly member has apologised for attending the festive bash, admitting it was “a serious error of judgment”.
